The Candlemakers’ Petition

The Mises Circle will be closing out the semester with a throwback reading from the great French economist Frédéric Bastiat.

“The Candlemakers’ Petition” from his seminal 1845 work, Economic Sophisms, is a satirical essay written from the perspective of candlemakers hoping to convince the French parliament to block out the sun so as to prevent unfair competition. While over a century and a half old, this essay still comically illuminates the follies of many economic policies being peddled today, as well as general misconceptions of economic law at large. From proponents of intellectual property to labor unions to Luddites afraid of the newest technologies, some people just don’t seem to get it.